Heikki: Team spirit won't be an issue

Heikki Kovalainen 03:15 07/06/2015
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  • Lewis Hamilton will be bidding for victory at Montreal after taking pole on Saturday.

    The mistake that cost Lewis Hamilton the win in Monaco caused all the headlines last time out but I think it was a one off for Mercedes and certainly can’t see that being a trend for the leaders.

    The relationship between Lewis and the team is not an issue and he won’t lose trust with his team after this misunderstanding. Human errors happen in every sport.

    Lewis has just signed a new deal so it’s clear that Mercedes are looking to the future in a confident frame of mind together with their driver.

    It will of course be frustrating for Lewis when he was leading on a track like Monaco but I’m sure it will most likely just make him more determined to bounce back in Montreal, which is historically a great circuit for him.

    I never had negative relationships with my team when I was in F1 but imagination does sometimes take over when racing and that can create a feeling of conspiracy sometimes.

    There was an incident at Hockenheim in 2008 when I was ahead of Lewis and the team told me to let him by and not hold him back. I thought I had a chance of winning and beating Sebastian Vettel but decided to let him pass for the team and this worked out well because he went on to win the race. It was the right choice from the team and it didn’t do any damage to my relationship with McLaren.

    I had to accept that I wasn’t performing as well as I should have been. Another time at McLaren, I had an accident in qualifying and came back to the pits to apologise to the team manager. I remember he said, “Never ever apologise for an accident. You are pushing yourself to the limit and every now and then you can go over.” 

    Things can go wrong sometimes but it’s all about learning and improving as a team.

    Change of scenery

    This week in Montreal, the track is very different to Monaco. There is a very long straight line for the racers but a good lap time is challenging in Canada because it is so difficult on the brakes. In Monaco you want to get as much downforce as you can to the car but in Montreal the aim is to make the car quicker on the straights.

    I remember having a serious issue with my brakes once but it was not at the end of a straight, it was in the middle of a hard corner in Barcelona in 2008.

    It wasn’t a brake failure as such but my tyre exploded and I had a puncture so I couldn’t turn through the corner and I went off the circuit.

    Failing brakes is the worst situation you can experience in Formula One. Normally, if you make a mistake, lose the car or if the rear goes, you have time to slow the car down and get ready for the impact, but a brake failure is the ultimate nightmare because it’s so unpredictable and scary. Hopefully, no-one will have to suffer that this week in Montreal. 

    Heikki’s prediction

    FIRST: Lewis Hamilton
    SECOND: Nico Rosberg
    THIRD: Sebastian Vettel

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